“That what secretly flows between us today, will gleam tomorrow, the way full moon does.”
— Rafy Rohaan
…
(September 13th)
Looking back on it now, it was honestly kind of inevitable for other people to not notice his seemingly constant presence around Lunamor's life, especially when they were in the academy considering how she had managed to set herself apart from the rest of the student body even before she managed to step a foot in the premises... which didn't really stop many of them from constantly watching her every move.
Then came along the youngest professor of said academy who was noted by many to be interacting with her more often than not—even outside school hours! (Which is seriously supposed to be a one-time thing back then)—and even if Hiro didn't always talk to her, they still manage to gravitate around each other's space quite a lot, especially after that dumb rumor went out of control.
... and now they were having this farce of an affair.
Ah, yes.
Their quote-unquote relationship.
...Which was still the latest, hot issue of the academy's rumor mill.
People who always needed something to talk about had wanted to know what was going on between the two of them.
(Even though it was really none of their business, by the way.)
Hiro wasn't stupid.
He had always suspected that many of his students and even some of his fellow professors were curious, had often wondered exactly why Lunamor would let him be anywhere near or even around her sacred space... and it most probably didn't really help that he had denied so vehemently being involved with her—only for Lunamor to be seen in public with him not too soon after.
But to begin with, Hiro has never been the talkative type, wasn't the type of person to sit down and start spilling all of his life stories to just about anyone, even to his closest friends.
What was he even going to say? That Lunamor didn't really have a choice in the matter since he had been her professor, and he just sat and spoke with her these past few weeks, discussing (which can also be read as debating) about mathematical theories and equations?
They might not believe such a boring tale (even though it was actually the truth) since that was seriously all there was to it but... but after hashing out the agreement with Lunamor in Mt. Moon, it goes without saying that Hiro would not be allowed to share the real details of their 'love story' with the adoring public.
But... yeah.
Hiro supposes the two of them are technically (but not really) dating now. Or as the kids say like to these days about their relationship status: it’s complicated.
And since Hiro was no longer her professor (Lunamor was most likely planning to get online classes or transferring school by the end of this semester), she had made it a point that it's safe for the two of them be at least seen interacting together in a natural setting... such as eating lunch together in order to make sure their fake-dating story continues to fly safely, just until the crowd gets bored and moves on to the next story.
So naturally, Hiro was seriously confused as hell if he should be surprised, or at the very least… should he act offended when he spotted another man already sitting right next to Lunamor at the cafeteria this Monday.
Even from the distance, Hiro can see how Lunamor's eyes were narrowing into a thin glare at the other student who was sitting way too close to her than what was proper, jaw stubbornly clenched as he stared right back at her, looking just as miffed, if not a bit more... and Hiro can only guess that Lunamor probably just said something offensive to him.
The probability of that is high.
Forget about worrying if his fake girlfriend is being hit on, these two seriously looks like they're going to start a fistfight any moment now.
That just won't do.
Hiro quickly made a beeline to their direction... before pausing at the edge of the table by Lunamor's side.
“Hi, sweetie,” he immediately greeted a bit too loudly, followed by a one-armed hug (like hell he’s gonna give her a kiss), all teeth and false cheer before he turned to look at the other with wide eyes, “So… who's your friend?”
“I have no idea who this person is.”
Hiro’s stare flattened.
…wait, what.
Now, the other man looked clearly insulted by that, “What are you, stupid? I just literally introduced myself—”
“Didn't I just tell you that I don't care?”
“No. You told me to shut up.”
“Which you aren't doing,” she observed.
For a moment, Hiro was at a loss with what he should do. He’s a teacher, he should be seriously stopping this… right?
Right.
Lunamor must have noticed that Hiro wasn't planning to sit down anytime soon with this unexpected plus one because she glanced up at him for the first time since he showed up. If possible, Lunamor's eyes looked even angrier when she turned to look at the other student now.
“You're in his seat.”
He scoffed, “Doesn't have his name on it.”
Whelp, he has a point.
It didn't.
Well... if this idiot wasn't planning to get out of their sight any time soon...
Sighing, Hiro reluctantly placed his stuff down on the table next to Lunamor's bag and studied her face for a moment as he did so.
She was still glaring at the other student over the top of her laptop, looking increasingly vexed the longer this goes on. He couldn't really blame her; lunch time is only for an hour and Hiro can only stay for less than thirty minutes.
Hiro seriously didn’t have any time for this nonsense... “Well, I guess you guys leave me no choice then.”
Before any of them could even ask what the professor could possibly mean by that, Hiro sat right next to Lunamor and all but leaned right next to her space without a warning until he was practically sandwiching her in between his body and the wall.
She was obviously startled by the sudden action, judging by the way both of her shoulders practically rise up in defense, limbs tensing as if bracing herself to or for an attack.
He raised an eyebrow at her.
That’s… not actually the reaction he’s looking for.
But it will do.
For now.
To his relief, she didn't instinctively push him right off of her away... even though he feels like she's itching to do just that at first.
Please, no.
That would be just seriously plain counterproductive for his plan.
Fortunately, her being averse to his sudden closeness was more or less the reaction Hiro was expecting from her… although the defensive posture was kind of rattling–because on the night of their so-called date, Hiro had faint, fuzzy memories of her letting him lean against her in the helicopter on the way back before he completely fell asleep despite the noise (and woke up on a couch in his sister’s hospital room), so he assumed she was okay with letting him be just as close against her, even if he was wide awake now.
And while Hiro knows he's most likely making a scene with what he's doing now, he couldn't find it in him to care. They can deal with the consequences later. Because hey, they wanted a show? Well, fine.
He'll give them one.
This was more for Lunamor's sake this time around, anyway. At least creeps would think twice before coming anywhere near her.
And to be honest, Hiro was a bit tired, as well as hungry... and also a teeny tiny bit annoyed that there was an actual jerk who just couldn't take a hint openly hovering around someone who was supposedly in a relationship.
Kids these days.
Hiro rested his head comfortably against Lunamor's, eyes never leaving the gob smacked student's eyes even as he addressed his faux girlfriend in a stage-whisper, “Whatever happened to my me time? We're both busy enough to see each other these days as it is...”
Lunamor twitched.
“Don't pin this on me, I already told him to get lost.”
The other student looked like he's going to throw a fit any second now, “Don't talk about me as if I'm not here!”
“...See?” she hissed. Hiro can practically feel the eye-roll in that one. He tried so hard not to smile at that.
For all of Lunamor's general lack of regard for social cues, she catch on quick to his idea without much further prompting. And Hiro was secretly kind of pleased that she was even going along with his plan.
But to be fair, Hiro was sure that Lunamor wouldn't try to ruin his plan to get rid of the other student considering just how annoyed she is, but he didn't really expect her to help him out.
Huh, this guy must have really been bugging her.
Hiro kept his gaze deliberately pointed across the table at the other student. He was scowling now and obviously offended with Lunamor's attitude but still firmly seated.
Wow.
Talk about stubborn.
Kudos for the tenacity.
“Hey, was there something important you need to talk about with Lunamor right now?” Hiro finally asked, trying to keep his tone placid.
“Yes. And to be frank, it doesn't really have to involve you,” the kid even has the audacity to sneer at his face, “...prof.”
Gloves off the table then.
Making a very audible clicking noise with his tongue, Hiro placed a hand on Lunamor's cheek and gently guided her face to angle it towards him so that the other student wouldn't be able to see her steadily darkening expression at the blatant disrespect.
...It was actually kind of scary seeing that glare up close even if the anger wasn’t really directed to him. And it was also kind of ironic since Lunamor seriously has no qualms being disrespectful to anyone in the academy, Hiro included.
“Maybe he'll leave you alone if we actually start being so lovey-dovey with each other?” Hiro teased, even wagging his eyebrows up and down at her in an attempt to lighten the mood.
She deadpanned, “Never repeat those words again.”
He grinned, leaning in even closer to her, pointedly aware of their unwanted audience's stare, “What, honey? Lovey-dovey?”
Lunamor didn't even blinked, she just bumped their foreheads gently together, almost affectionately to anyone who was watching. In reality, it was a warning though… albeit a very weak one.
That was when the other student apparently reached his limit as he pushed himself off of the table with a very loud screech of his chair. “Alright, that’s it! If you don't want a partner for the research project so badly, then be that way!” he yelled, “SEE IF I CARE!”
Wait.
...What?
Now, it was Hiro's turn to blink.
Pulling away from Lunamor's face, they both watched the other student stomp off for a moment before he turned to glare at her, roughly pushing himself off of her as well, “What the hell?! I thought he was hitting on you!”
Lunamor looked at him as if she thinks he was being dumb–which was very rude by the way, “I never said he was.”
Without thinking, Hiro ruffled her hair before standing up to move to the now unoccupied seat. At least his plan worked, “Well, whatever... just don't come crying to me if you happen to flunk your project.”
“...As if.”
Hiro raised an eyebrow at the obviously delayed response.
He turned to look just in time to see Lunamor silently raising a gloved hand to touch the top of her head, a strange look flitting across her face...
And Hiro couldn't help but smile.
She looked so confused.
Considering her ridiculously tall height, Lunamor wasn't probably used to head pats. Hiro wouldn't be surprised if she didn't like having her hair messed up too. And he silently vowed to ruffle that silky-soft hair whenever he got the chance.